Survey reveals 98% of consumers believe there will be positive long-term impact, prioritizing growth through an evolve with intention mindset. Read the full report.

1. Future Forecasting
Measuring Impact For Life
After Covid-19
April 2020
wmHarper’s Consumer Insight Team presents:

2. Online Survey
Fielded March 23-30, 2020
Nationwide General Audience
200 Participants
Age: 18-72
Study Methodology
Future Forecasting

3. “If you see stress as bad,
catastrophic and something you
need to avoid at all costs, each
time you get stressed, it’s going to
have a very negative effect on you.
If you see it as something that can
make you more resilient, you will
experience it very differently.”
- Tal Ben-Shahar, Positive Psychology Professor, Harvard

4. As a society, we are changing
the script around emotion –
pushed to feel our feelings
and see ourselves through
difficult times. In doing
so, we learn and grow our
resilient tendencies to be
stronger through each
hardship.
While manifesting long before the global
pandemic, this trend has been amplified in
recent weeks proving its prominence through
participants’ optimism in the study.
Cultural Trend
Shift to
Resiliency

5. While this is a time
filled with worry,
stress and frustration,
many also view it as a
humbling experience,
resulting in a changed
perspective that is
equally filled with
hope, appreciation
and gratitude.

6. We feel out of control, bringing a
rush of difficult emotions. In feeling
grief, consumers seek meaning
and emotions they can control –
Gratitude being the perfect example.
When asked for their top three
emotions, more than half
included a positive emotion.
Key Finding
Emotional State
Worried
Stressed
Frustrated
Overwhelmed
Grateful
Disappointed
Scared
Loved
Confused
Confident
Angry
Appreciated

7. At a time when emotions
are high, results showcase
resilient mentalities prepared
to prevail and find the good.

8. 98% of
respondents
believe there will
be positive long-
term impact

9. The strongest emerging
theme was the expectation
that, as a society, we will rise
as a more appreciative and
grateful collective.
Key Finding
Appreciation
“Everyone will learn how to slow down
and take more moments to appreciate
everything they have and the good
moments they get to experience.”

10. Self-care has been emphasized
in recent years, but as priority
moves to focus on oneself, the
balance can tip too far to result in
living life with blinders on.
In the last few weeks, newfound
time has given us opportunity
to think, breathe, and become
aware of not only our own
emotional state, but also what’s
going on around us - leading to a
broader perspective.
In times of crisis
we move outward
through the sphere.
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
Insight
Realization

11. Tunnel Vision
Priority: Just Keeping Up
• Chaotic list of to-do’s
• No time for yourself but your world is
centered only around your focus
Realization
Priority: Processing Change
• Complete lifestyle change
• Consumed by worry & frustration about
the unknown
• Forced end to the rat race
• A moment of reflection
Growth
Priority: Evolve with Intention
• Opportunity for reassessment
• Desire to return to “normal” but through
a filtered lens of what is most important
3 months ago
Today
Tomorrow
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
Evolution
Self

12. Reconnection
This new-normal has revealed a
deep-seeded desire for connection
that we didn’t know we needed.
With distance now put on even our closest
relationships, long-distance friendships and
immediate family are receiving rekindled
connection.
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
Friends & Family
“The increase in time
together at home will
reignite the value of
the nuclear family.”

13. Those Around Us
Realization of the inequality in our
communities, including lack of
access to essential resources.
As brands increase charitable support to
those in need, the public is more aware of
the issues at hand.
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
55% stated they were now more
supportive of meal programs in schools.
-Source: Resonate
Community
Insight 1

14. Those Around Us
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
Appreciation for the roles and
sacrifice of crucial workforce:
• Service industry: truck drivers, delivery,
grocery store staff
• Teachers
• Healthcare workers
“[Socially] breed
a new resolve to
see each other as
equals and deepen
the importance of
community.”
Community
Insight 2

15. In This Together
With a common enemy
on our minds, there is an
overwhelming desire to push
past our differences and band
together - locally, nationally,
and globally.
Few times in history has every nation across
the globe stood together in the same battle.
Friends & Family
Community
Global Collective
Self
Global Collective
“We come out of this
better appreciating
that the entire globe
has battled this virus
and that we really
aren’t all that different
in our core.”

16. “The situation
provides as many
opportunities as it
does challenges.”
As human beings we are
incredibly resilient, adapting
to a new normal and finding
the learning opportunity that
comes from trials like this.
Key Finding

17. If we look back over history,
we as people, and as a
country, have experienced
incredible growth after times
of crisis.
PHOTO HERE “With any time of crisis
comes big learning.”
Insight
Crisis Begets
Growth &
Opportunity

18. Future
Implications
Crisis forces us to evaluate,
innovate and evolve.
“The Office”
• Greater workplace flexibility
• Decentralized cities
• An evolution of how we collaborate and
connect with team members
Environment
• Rapid improvement seen in the short term
• Fuels proof for impact initiatives
• Learnings could also impact natural
disaster response
Education
• New learning models & tech innovation
• Global curriculums
• Conversation started about schools’
services beyond education
Future Forecasting

19. Preparation
• Healthcare improvements implemented
• Development of response protocols to
ensure better preparedness in the future
Technology
• Serving an emotional need now more
than ever before
• Innovation and creativity in this space will
not stop after the return to “normal”
Connection
• Separation brought back together long-
distance friends and family (both
immediate and distant)
• Relationships will hold increased
importance
Small Businesses
• Impacted by shutdowns
• Purchases reflect a civil act of support
over service or product necessity
• Emphasis on local

20. How will you be a part of the
next evolution in our society?
We challenge you to use this time to
learn, innovate and grow.

21. There’s no better time than
now to know your customer
by understanding what
they’re going through and
what they need, both now and
as things return to “normal.”
We’re here to help you.
Learn more about how we can help by
visiting wmharper.com/why
Contact our Consumer Insights team
rachelle.vansoest@wmHarper.com